LL.M. Class of 2014

Dillorom Abdulloeva (Uzbekistan)

Ms. Abdulloeva obtained her B.A. in Jurisprudence from Tashkent State Institute of Law (TSIL) in Uzbekistan, where she volunteered for three years at the TSIL Human Rights Clinic. She also studied at Nagoya University School of Law, Japan, through a one-year exchange program in 2009. She is a founder and president of a non-profit organization, which promotes the rule of law in Uzbekistan by raising the legal literacy of its citizens. As an expert on Uzbek legislation, she regularly appears on Uzbek media outlets. She recently attended the Law and Leadership Program at Karamah Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights.

Mustafa Ahmed (Pakistan)
Mr. Ahmed received his B.A.-LL.B. degree from the Lahore University of Management and Sciences (LUMS) in 2010 and thereafter worked on public interest litigation concerning civil and political rights, as well as transactional and regulatory matters. He has also volunteered with a group of legal practitioners providing pro bono legal assistance to members of religious minorities and the poor in Karachi, Pakistan. His publications include “International Human Rights and Women in Muslim Countries” published by the LUMS Student Law Review, and the Pakistan chapter of a publication titled “Cartels, Enforcement, Appeals & Damages Actions” published by the Global Legal Insights. Mr. Ahmed was selected for the prestigious 2013-2014 Fulbright Foreign Student Program.

Juan Pablo Aleman Izaguirre (Mexico)
Mr. Aleman Izaguirre earned his law degree in 2010 from the Iberoamerican University in Torreón, México. He worked for the Human Rights Program at Iberoamerican, where he led several conferences and research projects on the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights. From 2010 to 2013, Mr. Aleman worked for the Mexican Federal Government in the Ministry of the Interior, where he collaborated on Mexico’s compliance with judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the implementation of cautionary and provisional measures from the Inter-American System. He also worked in the Ministry of the Interior’s Program for the protection of human rights defenders and journalists at risk. Mr. Aleman is a 2013-14 Rita Bahr Scholar.

Rodrigo Da Costa Sales (Brazil)
Mr. da Costa earned his B.A. degree from the Universidade Potiguar Laureate International Universities in 2010. During his undergraduate studies, Mr. da Costa coordinated a large student group (Simulação de Organizações Internacionais – SOI) which was dedicated to investigating international law topics and to organizing a model United Nations program. During law school, he interned at the Office of the Public Defender and at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. After graduation, he was selected to be a visiting professional at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Since 2012, Mr. da Costa has been working at the Bar Association – Commission on Disability Rights Group and serving as a Volunteer for the International Justice Resource Center. Mr. da Costa is a 2013-14 Rita Bahr Scholar.

Federica Dalla Pria (Italy)
Ms. Dalla Pria obtained her law degree from the University of Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy in 2011. Following graduation, she began legal practice and research in human rights, writing legal articles for an NGO in Dublin, Ireland called “Pro Life Campaign” on the topic of the right to life and speaking at “Nuremberg: trial of a modern crime,” in Milan, Italy, regarding the post-trial period, especially the birth of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2012, as an intern at the Holy See Permanent Mission to WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and at the Holy See Permanent Mission to the United Nations, both in Geneva, Ms. Dalla Pria participated in a session of the Human Rights Council and in conferences of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Gerel Dondovdorj (Mongolia)
Ms. Dondovdorj earned her law degree from the Mongolian National University in 2004 and a certificate in NGO management from the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs in Kerala, India in 2010. After losing her sight as a law student, she graduated first in her law school class. Since 2006, she has served as the Executive Director of the Mongolian National Federation of the Blind, where she advocates for the full social and legal inclusion of all people with disabilities. Ms. Dondovdorj was selected for the prestigious 2013-2014 Fulbright Foreign Student Program.

Violet Aretha Dzingirai (Zimbabwe)
Ms. Dzingirai earned her law degree from the University of Zimbabwe in 2010 and holds Executive Certificates in Research Methods, Public Policy, Programme and Project Monitoring and Evaluation, and Community Development and Humanitarian Project Management. A projects lawyer with Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum), Ms. Dzingirai’s attentiveness to human rights and public policy began when she joined the Forum as an intern in 2008. In 2010 she began work in the Research Unit of the Forum where she produced analytical reports on human rights violations. She is currently involved in public interest litigation on behalf of victims of organized violence and torture. She has done advocacy work locally and internationally, submitting legal petitions and making appearances before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to report on human rights issues affecting Zimbabweans.

Sarah Frost (United States)
Ms. Frost earned her law degree in 2013 from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California. During law school, Ms. Frost participated in the Loyola International Human Rights Clinic, where she prepared petitions for filing at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of victims of extrajudicial killings. In her role as Chief Articles Editor for the Loyola of Los Angeles International & Comparative Law Review, Ms. Frost oversaw the work of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Case Compilation Project, a recent undertaking of the law review that produces summaries of Inter-American Court decisions for use by human rights advocates and scholars. In the summer of 2012, Ms. Frost completed an internship at the Human Rights Office of the Archbishop of Guatemala.

Peter Jacob (Pakistan)
Mr. Jacob has bachelor’s degrees in law and arts as well as master’s degrees in political science, rural development and project management. As a human rights professional with nearly three decades of experience in research, advocacy and lobbying inside and outside Pakistan, he has written and published extensively in daily newspapers, journals and books in Urdu and English on subjects related to human rights. His interests include the rights of minorities, women and labor, freedom of religion and belief, civil and political rights. He has been a speaker at many international events and forums including at the United Nations and the European Union Parliament. Mr. Jacob is Executive Director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace, established by the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Orinda Gjoni (Albania)
Ms. Gjoni obtained her law degree from the University of Tirana in 2006. She has worked as a lawyer in the Legal Department at the Ministry of Interior of Albania, conducting research, preparing legal opinions and analyzing various legal and sub-legal acts, as well as bilateral and multilateral agreements. Since 2008, she has worked at the Center of Integrated Legal Services and Practices (CILSP), a prominent Albanian NGO focusing on the rights of children. As CILPS’s Executive Director, she advocated for the improvement of the situation of Albanian children, particularly in the areas of justice, child protection, domestic violence, child abuse and labor exploitation. Ms. Gjoni was selected for the prestigious 2013-2014 Fulbright Foreign Student Program.

Andrea Guadarrama Prado (Mexico)
Ms. Guadarrama obtained her law degree from Anahuac University in 2012. She has worked for the State of Querétaro’s Human Rights Commission on educational projects and also as a human rights attorney. As an intern for the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, Ms. Guadarrama participated as a delegate to the UN General Assembly. She became an active member of the World Youth Alliance in 2006 and cofounded a local chapter in her city. She has participated in several international summits at the United Nations. In addition to her legal studies, Ms. Guadarrama completed the Phoenix Institute’s summer seminars on Western Studies at Notre Dame and in Austria and the Witherspoon Institute’s summer program on Moral Foundations of Law at Princeton University. She has been a Blackstone Legal Fellow since 2011. Ms. Guadarrama is the recipient of a Fulbright-García Robles scholarship. Ms. Guadarrama is a 2013-14 Rita Bahr Scholar.

Xin He (China)
Ms. He obtained her law degree (with honors) from Peking University in 2007. Following graduation, she worked in the Research Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Peking University Law School where she developed a strong interest in human rights law. Since 2009, Ms. He has worked with the Save the Children (UK) China Programme and the Center for Child-Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility (a subsidiary of Save the Children Sweden), specializing in children’s rights, youth justice, labor rights protection and child labor remediation.

Saramba Kandeh (Sierra Leone)
Ms. Kandeh earned her law degree (LL.B. Honours) from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone in 2008, and a Degree of Utter Barrister (B.L.) from the Sierra Leone Law School in 2009. She is a Peace and Security Fellow of King’s College London and a Junior Professional Fellow of the International Peace Institute New York. Ms. Kandeh interned at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria in 2010 and was also a panelist at the 55th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York 2011. She worked for Advocaid as Duty Counsel, where she represented female accused persons in court. Prior to joining the LL.M Programme Ms. Kandeh worked at Timap for Justice, a local NGO that provides basic justice services through community based paralegals as its Deputy Director. She also supervised the Human Rights Clinic at Fourah Bay College.

Elham Kazemi (Iran)
Ms. Kazemi obtained her law degree (LL.B.) from University of Tehran Law School in 2010 and her master’s degree (LL.M.) in Public International Law from the same school in 2013. During her education, apart from participating in various seminars and conferences in the fields of public international law and human rights law, she volunteered at the “Shush Children’s House” where she reviewed cases of child abuse and taught street and working children, most of whom had been victims of abuse.

Maria Chiara Massetti (Italy)
Ms. Massetti obtained her law degree from the University of Milan School of Law in 2012. During her studies she developed a strong interest in human rights, with a particular focus on refugee law. She has worked as Legal Consultant at the Latin American Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in San José, Costa Rica, where she researched refugee protection in the Inter-American System of Human Rights, with an emphasis on stateless people and the right of asylum. She also completed a Professional Visit at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, assisting in the drafting of a judgment involving reproductive rights. Ms. Massetti writes frequently about human rights issues in Europe and Latin America.

Amanda Mfuphi (South Africa)
Mr. Mfuphi obtained his law degree (LL.B.), and his master of law (LL.M.) in Constitutional Litigation at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2009 and 2010, respectively. He has worked as a Graduate Assistant for the Law School at his former university. In 2012, he clerked for Justice Van der Westhuizen at the Constitutional Court of South Africa. In 2013 he worked for the South African Human Rights Commission’s Promotion of Access to Information Unit, where he dealt with access to information issues and transparency. Mr. Mfuphi is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa.

Fabiana Nunez del Prado Nieto (Peru)
Ms. Núñez del Prado obtained her law degree (summa cum laude) from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in 2012. Since 2006, she has worked at criminal law firms in Peru and at the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, participating in diverse projects related to international law, human rights, democracy and governance in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice, the Transparency Civil Asociación, the European Union, the International Organization for Migration, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Oxford University. She was a representative of her university at the International Humanitarian Law – Jean Pictet Competition and interned at the Legal Advisory Section of the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court.

Mostafa Shaat (Egypt)
Mr. Shaat earned his law degree from the Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt in 2010. After graduation he began working with a number of Egyptian human rights groups and political think tanks, first as a junior political researcher in Al Sharq Center for Political and Strategic Studies and then at the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, where he coordinated a number of projects that aimed at raising the culture of human rights in Egypt. Mr. Shaat currently works at the Association for the Freedom of Thought and Expression as a researcher on freedom of media. He was a member of a number of youth awareness movements that emerged after the 2011 uprising.

Caroline Wambui (Kenya)
Ms. Wambui earned her law degree from University of Pretoria, South Africa. Between 2011 and 2012, Ms. Wambui worked at the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission of Kenya with victims and victim groups who suffered human rights abuses. She has conducted research on transitional justice issues and gross violations of human rights in Kenya and, prior to joining the LL.M. Program, worked at the Kenya Human Rights Commission assisting in the implementation of projects on protection of internally displaced persons and land rights.